Football 11/3/2009 9:00:00 PM Southern Utah Athletics

Thunderbirds Travel To South Dakota for 2009 GWC Finale'

Southern Utah's football team hits the road for its final Great West Conference game this week as the Thunderbirds travel to Vermillion, S.D. for a Saturday match-up with the University of South Dakota.

Southern Utah (4-4, 2-1 Great West) has won two straight and will be playing for at least a share of the GWC championship. The Thunderbirds put themselves in position to vie for the title with a 56-35 home win over UC Davis last weekend. SUU scored 21 unanswered second quarter points to roll up a 42-21 halftime advantage over the Aggies, then held off Davis' comeback in the fourth quarter. SUU moved to 4-0 at home with Saturday's win, but the Thunderbirds are still looking for their first road win of the season.

South Dakota (3-5, 0-2 Great West) opened the season 3-1 but has lost four straight since a 44-13 win over Southeastern Louisiana on Sept. 26. The Coyotes lost 21-17 last week at Northern Colorado and before that lost a pair of overtime contests, at Montana State (31-24) and at home to UC Davis (24-23). A loss at North Dakota (27-12) started the Coyotes' skid.

For the second straight week the Thunderbirds will be playing a pivotal game, at least as far as the Great West Conference title goes. At 2-1 the Thunderbirds are tied with North Dakota atop the league standings, a half-game ahead of 1-1 UC Davis and Cal Poly. The Thunderbirds can claim at least a share of the conference title with a win Saturday.

The Game: Southern Utah (4-4, 2-1) at South Dakota (3-5, 0-2), Saturday 4:05 p.m. (Central) at the Dakota Dome (10,000, artificial turf).

The Series: Saturday's game will mark just the second meeting between the two teams and the first in Vermillion, S.D. South Dakota prevailed in the series opener last season in Cedar City, 42-20.

TV: Saturday's game will not be televised locally. Highlight clips of all the Thunderbirds' home games are available via SUU's FTP site shortly after the conclusion of each game. For information on obtaining those highlights contact SUU Director of Athletic Media Relations Neil Gardner.

Radio: All of Southern Utah's 2009 football games are available over the Thunderbird Sports Network. SUU flagship station KSUU (91.1 FM) will carry every game live as well as on the worldwide web at www.suu.edu/ksuu. The games will also be carried live over Thunderbird Radio Network affiliate KSUB AM (590), which covers southwest Utah. Art Challis is in his 35th season as the Thunderbirds' football voice. He will be joined on home games by Chris Holmes and on road broadcasts by Holmes or Neil Gardner.

Thunderbird Club Luncheons: The Thunderbird Club's weekly no-host luncheon is held Mondays at noon at the Cedar City Crystal Inn. The public is invited to attend the luncheons where Southern Utah's in-season coaches talk about their upcoming contests and review the past week's action.

The Coaches: SUU's Ed Lamb (BYU, 1996) has a record of 8-11 seven games into his second season as the Thunderbird head coach and his second season as a head coach overall. Last year Lamb guided the Thunderbirds to their most successful season since 2004. Prior to taking over at SUU, Lamb spent three seasons at the University of San Diego where he coordinated the special teams and recruiting and was the Toreros' defensive backs coach. Prior to his time at USD Lamb spent two seasons as defensive coordinator at Idaho. He also served a season at BYU as a linebackers coach and four seasons at Redlands, three as defensive coordinator and one as defensive line coach. Coach Lamb is 0-1 vs. South Dakota.

South Dakota's Ed Meierkort (Dakota Wesleyan, 1982) is 42-23 in his sixth season at the helm of the Coyote program and 97-78 overall in his 17th season as a head coach. Coach Meierkort is 1-0 vs. the Thunderbirds.

Affiliations: Southern Utah is in its sixth season in the Great West Conference after eight seasons as an NCAA Division I (FCS) independent. SUU is a football-only member of the GWC and its other sports are affiliated with The Summit League in all its other sports except women's gymnastics, which competes in the Western Athletic Conference. South Dakota is a member of the Great West in all its sports.

SUU In The FCS National Ranks:

Individuals: SUU has individuals ranked among the nation's leaders (NCAA FCS top-50) in six categories this week, and would rank in another if punter Trevor Ward had enough attempts. Ward would lead the nation with a punting average of 46.3 yards per boot, but he has punted just 25 times through eight games, leaving him three kicks shy of the NCAA minimum of 3.5 per game. WR Tysson Poots finally became eligible for the NCAA rankings this week (he missed the first two games and the NCAA requires a player to appear in 75 percent of his team's contests) and jumped almost to the top of the receptions per game and receiving yards per game charts, where is he second and third, at 9.0 catches and 105.83 yards per game. Kicker Ryan Griffith is 12th in field goals per game with an average 1.5 per, and 15th in scoring at 8.5 points per game. Poots is 22nd in scoring, at 8.0 points per game. WR Fesi Sitake also ranks in a pair of categories, 10th in receptions per game (6.88) and 42nd in receiving yards per game (71.0). In addition to those players, quarterback Cade Cooper is 15th in total offense, with 272,25 yards per game, and 32nd in passing efficiency, at 139.51.

Team: As a team, the Thunderbirds lead the nation in one category, are second in another and rank among FCS's top-30 in five more. SUU is tops in the nation in net punting, at 42.92 yards per punt, and is second in punt returns, at 20.38 yards per return. SUU also ranks seventh in scoring (35.0 ppg), 12th in passing offense (270.0 ypg), 19th in total offense (399.38 ypg), 25th in turnover margin (plus 0.75) and 29th in passing efficiency (139.22 rating).

GWC Players of the Week

SUU has had seven GWC players of the week this season, including a sweep of all three awards this week. Running back Major Gray, cornerback Colin Pretlow, and return specialist Fesi Sitake all earned recognition this week, while CB Erron Vonner, WR Tysson Poots, QB Cade Cooper and PK Ryan Griffith were honored earlier in the season.

Gray, a 5-foot-9, 205-pound junior from Las Vegas, Nev. (Valley HS/Feather River JC) tied the SUU record for rushing touchdowns in a game with four Saturday, including three in the first half when the Thunderbirds built a 42-21 advantage. Gray carried 16 times for 74 yards to average 4.6 yards per carry, and eight of his 16 carries either went for first downs or touchdowns (or both). He has been the team's leading rusher in five straight games after beginning the season as a situational goal-line back.

Pretlow, a 5-10, 176-pound junior from Las Vegas, Nev. (Las Vegas HS) intercepted a pass in the fourth quarter and returned it 46 yards for a touchdown, thwarting UC Davis' come-back bid. The score pushed SUU's advantage to 56-35 and stopped a 14-point run by the Aggies. Pretlow also led the Thunderbirds with 13 tackles (10 solo) forced a fumble and broke up three passes. He helped hold UC Davis all-conference WR Chris Carter to just 47 receiving yards, his second-lowest total of the season. Pretlow now has a team-high two interceptions on the year, including one in each of the past two games.

Sitake, a 5-11, 185-pound wide receiver/punt returner from Sandy, Utah (Hillcrest HS), returned a punt 61 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter to stake SUU to a 35-21 lead. It was the first punt return for a touchdown at SUU since 2004. Sitake returned three punts a total of 106 yards, including returns of 61, 17 and 28 yards. In addition to the TD run-back, another of his returns set the team up on the UC Davis 41-yard line and led to the T-Birds' first touchdown. At receiver Sitake caught six passes for 61 yards as well.

Vonner, a 5-foot-10, 182-pound sophomore from Toledo, Ohio, had seven tackles, including three solo stops, a half-tackle for loss and led the team with a pair of pass break-ups against North Dakota but his big play was a fourth-quarter interception and return for a touchdown which iced Thunderbirds' 35-10 victory. His 12-yard return was SUU's first interception return for a touchdown since 2004. Among Vonner's additional highlights Saturday were a touchdown-saving tackle on UND's Ismael Bamba at the SUU 5-yard line, which helped prevent the Fighting Sioux from scoring any points on the drive, which ended with a failed field goal attempt. Vonner also drew responsibility for covering UND leading receiver Bamba - who had passed the 100-yard receiving mark in three of the previous four games - and helped keep him without a reception.

Poots, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound junior from Henderson, Nev., caught 12 passes for a season-best 170 yards and a touchdown in the Thunderbirds' 24-23 loss to at Cal Poly. His touchdown catch came in the end zone with nine seconds to play and a pair of defenders draped all over him. The score pulled SUU to within 24-23 but unfortunately for Poots and the Thunderbirds, the PAT sailed wide left, leaving SUU one point short. Poots' receiving yards and receptions are both the second-best (including ties) efforts in the Great West Conference this season. Of his 12 catches, fully 11 of them gave the Thunderbirds first downs, including one on fourth-and-10 in the final minute of play, leading up to SUU's final touchdown.

Cooper, a senior from Lehi, Utah, earned the award after his performance at Northern Arizona where he completed 33-of-48 passes for a personal and Great West Conference season high 425 yards and four touchdowns without throwing an interception. Cooper and running back Austin Minefee were key offensive players in rallying the team from a 35-17 deficit at the end of three quarters with a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns. Cooper and Minefee connected on 15- and 40-yard scoring passes as the team pulled to within 42-39 before running out of time. Cooper's passing and total yards (417) are both conference highs this season, while his four TD passes tied the league's season-high (USD's Noah Shepard against William Penn on Sept. 3).

Griffith earned the GWC Special Teams Player of the Week honors after week one. The senior from Hemet, Calif., who was kicking in his first game after moving over from wide receiver, nailed all five of his field goal attempts and was a perfect 3-for-3 on extra points against Dixie State to earn the honor. Griffith hit attempts from 20, 21, 23, 32 and 37 yards, and with his PATs he accounted for half the Thunderbirds' points. His five field goals set the SUU single-game record.

UC Davis Game Notes:

Until the North Dakota game SUU hadn't returned an interception or a punt for a score since 2004. Now, in the last two weeks, the team has had two interceptions returned for touchdowns (Pretlow's this week and Erron Vonner's last week) as well as a punt return for six (Sitake's).
SUU got scores from all phases of its game against UC Davis. The Thunderbirds had four rushing touchdowns, two passing touchdowns, one from the defense on the interception return and one from special teams on the punt return.
SUU is 4-0 this season when winning the turnover battle, 0-2 when losing it (at Cal Poly and San Diego State) and 0-2 when the turnovers are even (at Northern Arizona and Utah State).
SUU tallied a season-best four sacks vs. UC Davis. Chad Westwood recorded one of them, giving him QB sacks in two straight games. Scott Larsen also had sacks vs. UND and UCD. Taylor Pendley recorded his first sack of the season vs. Davis.
SUU's 56 points was the T-Birds' highest total since they scored 56 at McNeese State back in 2004. It was the highest point total at home since 1999 when the team scored 63 against Idaho State.
The 42 points SUU scored in the first half vs. UC Davis tied the SUU record (NCAA era) for points in a half and points in a first half, but it set the record for points in a half at home. SUU had scored 42 points in a half three times prior to Saturday: at Idaho State in 2000, at St. Mary's in 1999 and at Cal State Northridge in 1991. The Thunderbirds won all three of those games, topping Idaho State 62-24, St. Mary's 57-22 and Northridge 56-28.
Tysson Poots had 108 yards (and two TDs) on 11 receptions vs. UC Davis. The 11 catches are tied for eighth-most in a game at SUU. He now needs exactly 100 yards to pass Doug Berry (1967-70) to become the school's career receiving leader. He is already the SUU receiving touchdowns leader with 25 and counting. Poots' two TD grabs tied his single-game high this year.
Cade Cooper tied the SUU single-season record for touchdown passes vs. the Aggies. His two TD tosses to Poots gave him 22 on the season, which tied the record Cody Stone set last year.

North Dakota Game Notes:

Erron Vonner, who originally walked on to the team last year before earning a scholarship this season, was knocked from the game with an injury mid-way through the second period, but came back after the halftime break to record four of his seven tackles, break up a pass and record a pick and a TD in earning GWC Player of the Week honors.
Cade Cooper's 31 completions vs. UND were the third-most in a single game in SUU history (his 33 at NAU earlier in the season are second), and the four TD passes also tied the second-best total (accomplished by many, including himself at NAU) in school history. The four TD passes also tied the league's single-game high this season. He has now thrown for over 250 yards and at least three touchdowns in five straight games.
Trevor Ward punted six times for 300 yards, a 50-yards per-punt average, the third-best single-game average in SUU history. Ward's 53.2 yard average last year at Air Force is second. Jeff McComb holds the record, at 54.4, back in 1987 at Santa Clara.
Freshman QB Ammon OIsen completed a 50-yard pass late in the game, hooking up with fellow true freshman Mitch Jessop. It was the longest pass of Olsen's career and the longest reception of Jessop's, as well as the team's longest pass this season. Jessop finished the game with five receptions for 97 yards, both numbers are career-bests.
WR Fesi Sitake caught seven passes for a season-high 102 yards and a touchdown.
WR Tysson Poots caught two TD passes, his single-game high for this season; he matched it with two more vs. UC Davis.
Chad Westwood - who missed the Cal Poly game because his wife Brittany was giving birth to twins - was in on 1.5 sacks, the team's individual single-game high this year. Troy Bunting had his first sack of the season.
SUU tied its season-high with nine receivers catching passes. Among them was one extreme rarity, as offensive guard Russell Peterson caught one pass for no yards. Offensive linemen are generally barred from catching passes but Peterson's was deflected by a defender, making it fair game for anyone.
SUU has held UND to just 126 passing yards.
SUU's defense had a season-high two interceptions and a then season-best three sacks.

Cal Poly Game Notes:

Cal Poly passed for just 22 yards, the third-lowest opponent passing total in SUU history and the fewest passing yards against the Thunderbirds since the school moved to NCAA competition in 1986. It was the lowest passing total allowed by SUU since College of Idaho passed for just six yards, way back in 1966!
Poots' 12 receptions in the game tied the sixth-highest total in a game at SUU, and his 170 yards were the eighth-best single-game total.
Cade Cooper completed 27-of-40 passes for 263 yards and three touchdowns.
Abbel Aiono caught the first touchdown pass of his career, a one-yarder in the back of the end zone in the third quarter that tied the game at 14-14.
SUU did not punt in the game.
Southern Utah won the game every way except on the scoreboard and in the turnover battle. The Thunderbirds had 26 first downs to the Mustangs' 16, had 385 total yards to CP's 250, held Cal Poly to just 22 passing yards and ran 80 plays to the 'Stangs' 55 to control the ball for 32:55. SUU won the time of possession battle in every period but the fourth, where they had a 7:13-to-7:47 deficit. Unfortunately, however, SUU also turned the ball over deep in its own end (leading to a short-field TD) and threw an interception in the CP end zone (thwarting an SUU drive).
The only turnover Cal Poly lost was on an on-sides kick by SUU in the final 10 seconds. SUU recovered the kick after it bounced of a Poly player. Cal Poly fumbled five times in the game but lost just the one.
Cal Poly continually pooch-kicked on kickoffs but the strategy had questionable effectiveness as SUU's average starting position was the 34 yard line.

Texas State Game Notes:

Akeem Anifowoshe 99-yard fumble return for a touchdown was the longest fumble return in SUU history, breaking the old record of 68 yards by Marcus Burgess vs. Rocky Mountain back in 1996. SUU's last return for a touchdown came last season when current graduate assistant Aaron Fernandez returned a fumble 54 yards vs. Youngstown State.
Tysson Poots finished with 11 receptions for 120 yards. The 11 receptions are tied for No. 8 on the SUU single-game list.
Major Gray came off the bench in the first four games but with Austin Minefee sidelined by a rib injury Gray got the first start of his SUU career against the Bobcats. He responded with 91 yards and a touchdown on the ground and 24 yards and another score through the air. Gray's rushing, receiving and scoring totals were all then-career-bests.
Freshman Matt Holley notched his first collegiate interception when he picked off a Bradley George offering in the fourth quarter.
Fesi Sitake caught a season-low four passes for 42 yards vs. TSU but he did get into the end zone once.
Ryan Griffith's streak of perfection came to an end vs. the Bobcats. After making 10-of-10 field goals coming into the game, Griffith made his first attempt, a 28 yarder at the end of the first half, but missed two in the fourth quarter in strong, swirling winds. The misses came from 35 and 52 yards.
SUU has beaten Texas State three straight times, each time the Bobcats were ranked among the FCS top-25 and each time the Thunderbirds were unranked.
A season-high nine players caught passes for SUU vs. Texas State.
After getting off to slow starts in their first four games the Thunderbirds scored in five of their first six drives against Texas State.

Utah State Game Notes:

Ryan Griffith was 2-for-2 in field goal attempts at USU and connected on all four of his PATs. The converted WR started the season 10-for-10 on field goals and 12-for-13 on PATs.
Major Gray shouldered the rushing duties at USU and finished with of 16 carries for 57 yards. He also scored his second touchdown of the season.
Trevor Ward punted a season-high seven times at USU but he averaged 47.4 yards per punt.
Utah State fumbled seven times, losing three of them. Several came on errant pitches in the Aggie option offense.
FS Dion Turner posted career highs in tackles and solo tackles for the second straight game. He had 10 with eight solo stops at NAU, then bettered those numbers with 14 total and 10 solo stops at USU.

NAU Game Notes:

Cade Cooper completed 33 of 48 passes for a Great West Conference season high 425 yards and four touchdowns without throwing an interception. He rallied the team from a 35-17 deficit at the end of three quarters with a pair of fourth quarter touchdown passes to Austin Minefee as the team pulled to within 42-39 before running out of time. His passing and total yards (417) are both conference highs this season, while his four TD passes tied the league's season-high (USD's Noah Shepard against William Penn on Sept. 3).
Austin Minefee hadn't caught a pass all season until the NAU game. At NAU he had five receptions for 83 yards and three touchdowns, the second-highest TD total in the conference this year. His 18 points at NAU tied he second-highest point total by an individual in the conference this season (teammate Ryan Griffith vs. Dixie State). Minefee finished with 172 all-purpose yards after gaining 83 on the ground; it was his first sub-100-yard rushing day but most of the receiving yards wer gained after the catch.
Fesi Sitake had a career-high 10 receptions at NAU.
Tysson Poots saw his first action of the season at NAU where he caught six passes for a team-high 109 yards and one touchdown.

Records Watch:

Tysson Poots' 11 receptions vs. UC Davis broke a tie atop the SUU all-time receptions list, moving him past Doug Berry (1967-70). Poots now has 188 receptions to Berry's 177 and he needs exactly 100 yards to pass Berry for first place on the receiving yards list. Poots also sets a new SUU record for career receiving touchdowns each time he scores, as he entered the season tied with Stookey atop that list; Poots now has 25 career TD receptions.
Trevor Ward's current average of 46.3 yards per punt is the best in SUU history while his career average of 41.4 yards per punt is the third-best.
In just one season Ryan Griffith has moved into SUU's career top-10 for field goal kicking. His 12 this year rank fifth on the career list and are third on the single-season list - behind Dave Pretzer (2001) and Herkey Marxen (1989) - who each had 13. Marxen and Pretzer are 1-2 on the career list, with 38 and 28, respectively.
Griffith set an SUU record with five field goals in a game vs. Dixie State.
Cade Cooper completed 31 passes vs. North Dakota, the third-most in a game in SUU history. Earlier in the season he completed 33 at NAU, the second-most in a game at SUU, a his 27 completions against both Texas State and Cal Poly are tied as the sixth-best efforts in SUU history. Cooper's 173 completions this season rank fourth on the SUU single-season list, while his 20 TD passes are third; his 1,833 passing yards rank ninth and his 271 attempts rank sixth. His 425 passing yards at NAU were the second-most in a game at SUU, behind Cody Stone's 469 at Cal Poly last year. His 33 completions were also second to Stone's 34 at Cal Poly and his 48 attempts tied for the third-most in a game at SUU (Ryan Zimmerman vs. McNeese State in 2003 and Rick Robins vs. St. Mary's in 1995).
Austin Minefee rushed for 147 yards in the opener and 111 at San Diego State. It had been seven seasons SUU had a back rush for over 100-yards in back-to-back games. The last time was back in 2002 when Charles Henderson had 115 yards at home against Cal Poly then the 185 the next week at Montana.

Thunderbird Notes:

Since returning from his broken foot in the third week of the season, Tysson Poots has caught a touchdown pass in every game, as well as breaking the 100-yard mark in four of the six contests. He has been the team's leading receiver in four of the six games since his return as well.
Cade Cooper passed for 250 yards or more in five straight games until finishing with 248 yards vs. UC Davis. He finished with 425 at Northern Arizona, 250 at Utah State, 256 vs. Texas State, 263 at Cal Poly, and 295 vs. North Dakota.

Coyote Context:

After falling behind 14-0 South Dakota played catch-up last week at Northern Colorado, scoring on three consecutive possessions to grab a 17-14 lead in the third period. The Bears thwarted USD's next two possessions, intercepting a pass and forcing a punt, then drove 89 yards on 13 plays to take the lead. The Coyotes got the ball back twice but were unable to retake the lead. The statistics were as close as the score, as USD finished with 409 yards of offense to UNC's 395.

The Coyotes have a balanced offensive attack which averages 189.9 yards per game on the ground and 245.0 through the air. They also have the GWC's second most potent scoring attack, at 28.8 points per game, as well as its second stingiest scoring defense, at 25.4 ppg. SUU has the highest-scoring offense, at 35.0 ppg, while Cal Poly allows the fewest points, 22.9. The Coyotes have given up an average of 113.6 rushing and 264.1 passing yards per game and have sacked opponents quarterbacks 17 times while logging 49 tackles for losses.

Quarterback Noah Shepard (6-2, 215, Sr) carries the GWC's top passer efficiency rating, at 143.8 and averages 228.6 yards per game while rushing for another 48.8 to lead the conference with 277.4 total yards per game. He has completed 143-of-231 passes for 1,829 yards and 15 touchdowns and has also rushed for a team-high 10 TDs. His favorite targets have been WRs Tom Flanagan (5-9, 190, Fr) and Dan Skelly (6-1, 191, Sr), with 30 receptions for 379 yards and three TDs and 25 receptions for 373 yards and two scores, respectively. WR Ben Oberle (6-1, 195, Sr) has been the most productive receiver, however, with four TDs and an 18.3 yards per catch average, both team-highs. RB Chris Ganious (5-8, 185, So) leads the team and the league in rushing with an average of 76.1 yards per game; he has scored two touchdowns.

On the defensive side of the ball FS Shane Potter (6-2, 215, So) and ILB Adam Broders (6-2, 220, So) are 1-2 on the tackles list, with 59 and 58, while ILB Shea Williams (6-2, 215, So) has 54 stops. Potter also leads the team with two interceptions, while SS Jim Thompson (6-2, 205, So) has broken up a team-high five passes. DE Wayne Curry (6-3, 240, Sr) leads the team with six sacks and is its co-TFLs leader - along with OLB Ryan Routh (6-1, 220, Sr) - with eight.

Ed Lamb On South Dakota: "South Dakota is a very good football team. They've got one of the best players in the conference in Noah Shepard. They came here last year and absolutely waxed us in our stadium. We've got a big task but a big reward if we can get it done. They've lost only one game at home this year, an overtime loss to UC Davis, and it was a game they very well could have won. South Dakota could have come out on top of all their games. They've played a tough schedule; just like most of the teams in the west it's hard to find games and you wind up playing some very good teams out here in the west. It will be a very difficult game for us. South Dakota is 29-3 in their last 32 games at home. It's a big advantage for them."

Lamb on the Thunderbirds: "The victory Saturday [over UC Davis] was truly rewarding for our players, but for our coaches to see a game won in that fashion I think is probably the most rewarding way for us. Two weeks now in a row the other [team's] coaches have done a really fine job, and two weeks in a row our guys have overcome excellent game plans by the opponents' coach. For us, maybe it's counter-intuitive, but that's really the indication that the program is getting to the point where we needed to be. We don't feel like every week we need to trick the opponent's coaches and the opponent's players, bring gimmicky plays.

"Our game at South Dakota this weekend is a championship football game. There are a lot of scenarios, every team could finish with two losses and we could have a bunch of teams tied for the conference championship, but the one scenario, the simplest one is we win [Saturday], we win the conference and from there everyone else in subsequent weeks will be trying to catch up for a share of the conference title with us. It's something that just a short time ago didn't seem possible. We've got our work cut out for us. If we could get a win Saturday it would be our first road victory of the season."

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